This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7xc2xa7119 and/or 365 to Application No. 9902624-7 filed in Sweden on Jul. 8, 1999; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a portable communication apparatus for use in a mobile communications network and having visual indicator means. More specifically, the present invention relates to a portable communication apparatus having a transceiver device for providing a first wireless communication link to the mobile communications network, where the visual indicator means is adapted to emit a first visible light signal, within a first predetermined spectral range, for indicating a status of the first wireless communication link, and where the transceiver device is further adapted to provide a second wireless communication link to equipment other than the mobile communications network.
A mobile or cellular telephone is a well-known example of a portable communication apparatus according to the above. Within the context of this document, reference will consistently be made to a mobile telephone for any commercially available mobile communications network, such as GSM. However, the invention is not limited to merely a mobile telephone; other equally applicable examples of portable communication apparatuses are radio pagers and communicators (also known as personal digital assistants), i.e. a portable telephone device including a computer and application programs, such as a built-in calendar. Moreover, the term xe2x80x9cmobile communications networkxe2x80x9d is meant to have the widest possible meaning, thereby including all types of cellular networks, satellite networks, wireless local area networks (LANs), etc.
Mobile telephones are generally provided with a visual indicator for indicating status information about the connectivity of the mobile telephone with respect to the mobile communications network. Moreover, a battery charge indicator is often provided for alerting a user of the telephone, when the remaining battery charge drops below a predetermined limit. WO98/56152 discloses a mobile telephone having such status indicators.
One common approach is to provide the mobile telephone with a combined green and red indicator window mounted at the top of the telephone housing. A dual-color light emitting device, such as a red light emitting diode (LED) combined with a green LED, is mounted to a printed circuit board within the telephone housing. An optical light guide is arranged between the external indicator window and the internal light emitting device. The dual-color light emitting device may for instance be used according to the following:
Consequently, a green visual indicator is used for informing the user of whether the mobile telephone is in operative contact with the mobile communications network (so that, inter alia, the user is free to initiate an outgoing telephone call) or whether the mobile telephone has currently lost its operative contact with the mobile communications network.
A more recent development within the field of mobile telephones and other portable communication apparatuses is the provision of a supplementary short-range radio link, in addition to the normal wireless communication link between the mobile telephone and the mobile communications network, for allowing simple, inexpensive and standardized wireless information exchange between the mobile telephone and other external equipment, such as hand-held, portable or stationary computers, home appliance, computer peripherals (such as printers), digital cameras, etc.
It is envisaged that such short-range radio links for information exchange with external devices will operate on a globally available microwave band, for instance around 2.4 GHz. It has been suggested to use the free ISM band (xe2x80x9cInstrumentation, Scientific and Medical bandxe2x80x9d), which is available in 79 channels between 2.402 GHz and 2.480 GHz. The typical operating distance of such a short-range radio link is believed to be between 10 cm and 10 m, but the upper limit may easily be extended to more than 100 m by increasing the transmit power.
According to the invention, the following problem is identified and a solution thereof is provided, as defined by the enclosed independent patent claims.
While it is well-known to use a flashing green light for indicating operative contact between mobile telephone and mobile communications network, the problem of providing a sufficient indication to the user of the momentary availability of external peripheral devices through a supplementary short-range radio link does not appear to have been addressed in the prior art. When considering this problem in more detail, one realizes that the telephone user would definitely benefit, if he or she were given an accurate indication of the availability of an operative wireless link not only to the mobile communications network but also to external devices over the supplementary short-range radio link. For instance, assuming that the user of the mobile telephone will carry the telephone throughout a working day between various places within an office environment, then at any given moment in time, an unknown number of external devices may or may not be operatively available within, say, 10 m from the mobile telephone. However, if no indication of this is given to the user, he or she will often, unknowingly, miss the opportunity of connecting to and using such momentarily available external devices.
The above problem is solved through the inventive understanding that user feedback is best given by providing an additional visual indication of operative contact with such external devices, wherein the additional visual indication is clearly separated from the normal visual indication of operative contact with the mobile communications network. More specifically, the additional visual indication occurs in a different spectral range than the normal visual indication. Preferably, the availability of external devices over the supplementary short-range radio link is indicated by a blue light, while the connectivity between the mobile telephone and the mobile communications network is indicated, as normal, by a green light. Information about the remaining charge level of the battery may be given through a red light, as is generally known per se.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following disclosure of the preferred embodiments, from the attached drawings as well as from the dependent claims.